Bloodstock Desk: Canadian diamond miner picks a perfect gem in Timber Ice; Edward Prosser reports from the first day of the Tattersalls Mares Sale.
Byline: Edward ProsserA HUGE international crowd had assembled yesterday for the opening breeding stock session of Tattersalls' 2005 December Sale and it was a Canadian buyer - bidding by telephone - who was topping the session as darkness fell on Newmarket.
Charles Fipke, a diamond mine owner from British Columbia, landed the choice lot - Timber Ice, consigned by the Niarchos family - when, buying through Coolmore's Kevin Buckley, he paid 320,000gns for the five-year-old.
The daughter of Woodman, in foal to Anabaa, is a full-sister to 1998 Grand Criterium winner Way Of Light, from the close family of a whole host of star performers such as Bago, Machiavellian, Exit To Nowhere and Coup de Genie.
"Mares like that don't come on to the market too often," said Buckley after first seeing off Hugo Lascelles and finally Richard Frisby.
"Mr Fipke has been a client of mine for several years and his great ambition was to breed a Group 1 winner by Sadler's Wells, which he achieved with P erfect Soul.
"The mating plans haven't been decided for this mare and she could go to Sadler's Wells next year but the long-term view was to send her to the States to be covered by Perfect Soul at Darby Dan Farm."
Maids Causeway may be an absentee at this week's sale after being bought privately by Sheikh Mohammed but her half-sister Dream Valley - one of One Cool Cat's 162 mates in his first year at stud - was not short of admirers.
Hubie de Burgh tried hard to get the daughter of Sadler's Wells, offered from Lady Joanne Wellesley's Marston Stud, but she will head to The Cottage Stud, owned by Tom Monaghan and his son Paul in Co Kildare, after making 300,000gns.
"We're looking to update the quality of our bloodstock," said the younger Monaghan, after bidding for the mare, "and we usually sell everything as foals so the One Cool Cat she is carrying will be offered next year. We've had the stud for 20 years and have bred horses such as Ezzoud and Miss Boniface."
This year's Musidora Stakes winner Secret History will join Peter and Michelle Morgan's Carmel Stud, set up a year ago near Bath, after making 260,000gns.
Plantation Stud's new owner Dermot O'Rourke also tried for the Bahri filly with James Wigan of London Thoroughbred Services coming out second best.
"She was a very pretty filly and ideal for the farm," said the stud's manager Liam Norris. "She's done enough on the racecourse and she'll be retired now and we're going to sit down and look at sexy stallions for her. "We hope to achieve seven mares rated over 100 to produce top-class yearlings."
Limanora may not have quite performed to the level of her half-brother Domedriver when trained by Dominique Sepulchre for the Niarchos family but her pedigree would always earn her a place in a blue-chip broodmare band.
Cormac McCormack was eager to get the three-yearold Machiavellian filly but not as much as agent John Warren, who had the final say at 260,000gns.
One of the fairytale stories of this year's Flat season came when Saoire, bred in Wales at Louise Parry's P antycoed Stud landed the Irish 1,000 Guineas having made just 4,000gns as a foal.
Saoire's dam Polish Descent had been bought by P arry - again for only 4,000gns - at the 1997 December Sale and the good-looking mare made much more of an impact when returning to Park P addocks eight years on.
Seamus Kennedy, Barronstown Stud owner David Nagle and agent Stephen Hillen were keen to get the Danehill mare but she - like her 65,000gns Auction House colt foal sold last week - is now the property of Saoire's owner Joseph Joyce, who paid 180,000gns for the 12-year-old, covered by Kyllachy.
Eamonn Reilly of BBA Ireland bid on Joyce's behalf and reported: "Mr Joyce was very keen to have her and will to send her back to Pivotal and get an ownbrother or sister to Saoire. She'll go back to the owner's farm in Galway and he's bought her to race the progeny. The long-term plan is to build up his stud so that he's self-sufficient and no longer has to buy at the yearling sales."
Seeking A Way, who won the Newmarket Challenge Cup for George Strawbridge, will head to Australia via Kentucky after being bought for 165,000gns by John McCormack.
"She's for an Australian client who'll send her to the States to have her Fantastic Light foal," said McCormack.
"She'll be covered by Giant's Causeway to southern hemisphere time and then go to Australia.
She's by Seeking The Gold and the cross seems to work well with (Giant's Causeway's sire) Storm Cat."
Details, page 24
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Secret History: the Musidora winner fetched 260,000gns and will go to Peter and Michelle Morgan's Carmel Stud
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| Publication: | The Racing Post (London, England) |
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| Date: | Nov 29, 2005 |
| Words: | 800 |
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